Attachment foe sewing machines



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(ModeL) L. T. BULLEY. OVBRSEAMING ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES.

No. 456,354. Patented July 21, 1891.

llmmn I lllllllllllllllllfl 2 SheetsSheet 2.

(ModeL) L.T.BULLEY.

I OVERSBAMING-ATTAGHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES. N 0. 456

,354. Patented July 21, 1891.

ms PETERS 60., PMO'TO-LITH UNITED STATES ATENT FFICE.

LOUIS T: BULLEY, OF TYLER CITY, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE PEER- ILESS BUTTON HOLE ATTACHMENT COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

OVERSEAMING ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING-MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 456,354, dated July 21,1891. Application filed June 9. 1890- Serial No. 354,679. (ModeL) To allwhom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LOUIS T. BULLEY, of Tyler City, in the county of NewHaven and State of Connecticut, have invented new Im- 5 provements inOverseaming Attachments for Sewing Machines; and I do hereby declare thefollowing, when taken in connection with accompanying drawings and theletters of ref-' erence marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the same, and which said drawings constitute part of thisspecification, and represent, in

Figure 1,'a view in side elevation of one form which my improved devicemay assume; I5 Fig. 2, a top plan view thereof; Fig. 3, a reverse planview thereof; Fig. 4, a reverse plan View thereof with the feeding-footand feedplate removed and the feeding-dog retired to permit theproduction of a transverse stitch; 2 Fig. 5, a similar View showing thefeedingdog in position for feeding the cloth forward in the productionof a longitudinal stitch; Fig. 6, a similar view with the dog removed;Fig. 7, a diagram showing the elemental overseaming stitch which thedevice is designed primarily to produce and which may be much modifiedfor embroidery-stitching by changing the tension of the thread. Fig. 8is aview' in side elevation of the preferred form of my device.- Fig. 9is a plan view thereof; Fig. 10, a detached reverse plan view of thefeed-plate and feeding-foot employed in my preferred construction. Fig.11 is a diagram showing one of the embroidery-stitches which may 55 beproduced by changing the tension of the thread.

My invention relates to an improved overseaming attachment forsewing-machines, the object being to make a simple device of few partsadapted to produce a novel and effective stitch, which may be widelymodified for use as an embroidery-stitch bychanging the tension of thethread.

\ With these ends in view my invention consists in an overseamingattachment having certain details of construction and combinations ofparts, as will be hereinafter described,. and pointed out in the claims.

As herein shown, the device is provided with the usual upright socket A,by means of which it is attached to the presser-bar of thesewing-machine to which it is applied, and by which it is actuated. Thissocket is rigidly secured at its lower end to the forward end of abase-plate B, which is provided at the right-hand edge of its forwardend with an upright arm C, extending above the said socket.

A bell-crank lever D, pivoted to the upper end of the said arm C andupon the inner face thereof, has one of its arms provided at its outerend with the usual fork E for engagement with the needle-bar of themachine, and

its otherarm provided atthe forward edge of its lower end with a beveledinwardly-projecting finger F, which I shall hereinafter call, from thefunction it performs, a restoring-finger, and at the rear edge of itslower end with two in wardly-proj ecting operating-teeth G G. The saidfinger and teeth just mentioned co-operate to rotate anoblongdriving-cam H, hav- 7o ing a pair of prongs I I at each of its ends andrigidly secured to a short upright drivingshaft J, j on rnaled in thebed-plate B, near the forward end thereof, and also carrying a small Idriving-pinion K, having bearing upon the upper face of the base-plateand located directly under the said driving-cam. The said I pinionmeshes into a driven pinion L, havingtwice as many teeth bearing uponthe upper face of the bed-plate and secured to a short 8o upright drivenshaft M, journaled therein. Under the described construction thedriving-cam and driving-pinion make a half-turn and the driven pinion aquarter-turn for every complete stroke of the bell-crank lever,

which, when raised, engages its teeth G G with the adjacent prongs ofthe driving-cam and turns the same half around, and when depressedengages its beveled restoring-finger with the adjacentedge of the cam,and 0 swings the same into right position for the engagement of itsprongs by the said teeth when the lever is again raised. The lower endof the driving-shaftJ projects below the base-plate and through thevibrating plate N, 5 for which it forms a fulcrum, and receives at itsextreme lower end the cam O, which supports the forward end of the saidvibrating plate in position and holds the same against the lower face ofthe base-plate. The lower roo end of the driven shaft M also projectsbelow the base-plate and carries a swit-clrcam P, which is located inthe forward end of a large opening Q, formed in the vibrating plate. Thesaid switch-cam is engaged by the two forwardlyprojecting arms R and Rof a switch R located in the opening Q of the vibrating plate beforementioned, and longitudinally movable therein, and fulcrumed at itsextreme rear endupon a stud S, to which it is secured by a flat key-nutB, the said stud extending downwardly through an elongated slot S,formed in the rear end of the base-plate B and made integral with aflanged head S having bearing upon the upper face of the said base-plateand movable thereon and having formed in it a transverse threadedopening receiving the forward end of a horizontal adjusting-screw Thaving a grooved neck T and mounted in a slotted arm B turned up fromthe rear end of the base-plate and entering the said grooved neck. Theextreme rear end of the said screw is provided with a knurled head Twhereby the screw is turned to shift the stud, and so move the switch inthe opening of the vibrating plate, and thus vary the vibratory actionof the same.

The outer edges of the arms R and R of the switch are provided withconvexed camfaces R R which co-operate with indentations N N, formed inadjacent edges of the opening Q in the vibrating plate to vary, as theswitch is longitudinally adjusted, the arc in which the vibrating plateplays. The said switch and the opening Q are shaped so that when theplate is thrown to either limit of its vibration the switch will engageat the outer end of one of its arms and at a point at its rear end onthe opposite side of its fulcrum with the edges of the opening, and solook the vibrating plate against movement, which is necessary to, bedone in order that the parts may not move when the longitudinal stitchesare being formed. The switchcam, it may also be mentioned, is shaped sothat it shifts the switch only on alternate strokes of the bell-cranklever, holding the switch at either limit of its throw during two of itsactuations. The said. vibrating plate is supported at its rear end bymeans of a headed pin U, depending from the rear end of the basc-plateand entering a transverse slot N offsetting from the opening Q at therear end thereof. The extreme lower end of the shaft M projects belowthe switch-cam carried by it and enters a longitudinal slot V, formed inthe rear end of a feeding-dog V, which it guides, the said dog beingprovided at its forward end with two parallel arms V and Y which receivethe feedingdog cam 0 between them. The said arm V is provided with ashoulder V" and an outwardly-projecting finger V, respectively, engagedalternately by fingers XV and W, formed at the lower end of a rockingarm V hung upon the outer face of the upright arm C. of the base-plateby a stud X, and

having its upper end slotted, as at for the adjustment of a driving-studX, which passes through it and enters a similar slot X formed in theinner end of an operating-arm Y, located on the outside of the arm 0 andhaving the same center as the bell-crank lever, with which it is rigidlyconnected. Under this construction the motion derived from thebell-crank lever is transmitted to the feeding-dog for operating thesame in both directions of its longitudinal movement. The said cam O isshaped so that it will alternately retire the feeding-dog, as shown byFig. l of the drawings, and switch it into position, as shown by Fig. 5thereof, to be operated upon and actuated by the fingers of the rockingarm. The said longitudinal movement of the feeding-dog is transmitted bya downwardly-projecting stud V, located at its rear end to a feed-plateZ, which is transversely slotted, as at Z, to receive it, the saidfeed-plate being secured to and below the vibrating plate with acapacity for longitudinal play relative thereto by means of two headedpins Z Z secured to the opposite edges of the vibrating plate andentering the elongated slots Z Z, formed in the respective edges of thefeed-plate, which closes in the switch and supports the feeding-dog V. Abroad flat spring Z secured to the forward edge of the feed-plate,carries at its forward end a fiat feeding-foot Z, having its lower facefurnished with serrations to engage with the fabric or material beingornamented and having formed in it an elongated opening Z, through whicha smoothly-curved narrow presser-foot a extends to rest upon the fabricor material, the said presser-foot a being formed at the extreme forwardend of the vibrating plate. Normally the presser-foot rests upon thefabric or material, from which the feeding-foot is cleared by the actionof the spring Z"; but to feed the fabric or material, the feedingfoot isengaged with it by means of two cams b b, respectively secured to theopposite ends of a rocl-shaft c, journaled in a bearing cl, secured tothe vibrating plate and located directly in the rear of the presser-foota, the said shaft having secured to one of its ends an operating-levere, forked at its upper end to receive a stud f, located at the outer endof the arm Y, before referred to. Then the bell-crank lever is lifted,the cams I) b are thrown down upon the upper face of the feeding-foot,which, by virtue of its spring connection Z", will yield and bedepressed below the pressenfoot and engaged with the cloth for feedingthe same. hen, on the other hand, the bell-crank lever is thrown down,the cams will be disengaged from the feeding'foot, which will then berestored by the elemental stitch, which is shown byFig. 7 of thedrawings, consists, as will be observed, of a series of alternatetransverse and longitudinal stitches, with the latter extending 'at aright angle from the opposite ends of the former. It will at once beclear from the foregoing that the longitudinal stitches, which are madewhen the fabric is fed forward, must be formed alternately from eitherlimit of the transverse movement imparted to the fabric for producingthe transverse stitches, and that the parts of the device must thereforebe held in rigid position at. the said limits when the longitudinalstitches are being formed. As shown by Figs. 1, 2, and 3 of thedrawings, the parts are shown in the positions due to them after thecloth has been fed forward preparatory to forming a stitchcorrespondingto the longitudinal stitch c (Shown in Fig. 7 of thedrawings.) At this time the vibrating plate and the switch will bethrown to the right -hand limit of their vibration. Now when thebell-crank lever is thrown down by the needle-bar and the said stitchformed, the finger XV of the rocking arm engages with the finger V ofthe feeding-dog and moves the same, and hence the feed-plate and thefeeding-foot, forward. Then as the bellcrank lever is lifted the dog-camO operates to switch the dog to one side and clear itfrom the fingers ofthe rocking arm, while at the same time the switch-cam P operates tothrow the switch R and move the vibrating plate N to the left-hand limitof its vibration,whereby the cloth is also moved preparatory to forminga stitch It. Now when the bell-crank lever is again thrown down by theneedle-bar and the said stitch formed, the dog-cam makes a half-turn andswitches the dog back into position forthe engagement of its shoulder Vby the finger WV of the rocking arm, and the switch-cam makes aquarter-turn without, however, moving the switch and continuing to holdit and the vibrating plate in their lastmentioned positions. The leverbeing now raised, the finger W of the rocking arm moves the feeding-dog,and hence the feed-plate and feeding-foot, rearward, whereby the clothis fed forward preparatory to forming the lefthand longitudinal stitcht, the switch-cam being given a quarter-turn, without, however, movingthe switch. The next depression of the lever sees the formation ofthesaid stitch and the restoration of the feeding-dog to its feedingposition. The succeeding elevation of the lever effects the throwing ofthe switch and vibrating'plate to the limit of their lefthandmovement,.and so moves the cloth preparatory to forming the transversestitch 7'.

The next depression of the lever forms the said stitch, and itssucceeding elevation effects the feeding of the cloth again preparatoryto forming the stitch-g, and so on. The

stitching thus formed is, as is readily appa-' rent, peculiarly adaptedto over-seaming; but it may be given a wide variation of appearance bychanging the tension of the thread,

whereby the stitches will be pulled out of line with the pleasing andornamental effect well suited to embroidery-work.

In the preferred form of my device (shown for convenience by Figs. -8,9, and 10 of the drawings) the upright shafts J and M are.

actuated by means of four pins is, mounted in the four corners of asquare in a quadrangular plate is, secured to the pinion L and engagedby an actuating-finger Z and a restoring-finger Z, projecting inwardlyfrom the lower arm of the bell-crank lever D, hung from the upright arm0, which in this case is placed about-midway the length of thebase-plate. Under this construction the pinions K and L will be operatedat the same relative rate as before. In the preferred construction,also, the longitudinal reciprocation of the feeding-dog is regulated bymeans of an inclined longitudinally-movable slide m, secured to theunder face of the finger WV of the rocking arm W by a stud at, extendingthrough an elongated slot 0, formedin the said finger and adjusted by ascrew 0, passing through the outer end of the said stud and connectedwith the outer end of the finger, which is thereto bent and shaped toenter an annular groove 0 formed in the outer end of the screw;Furthermore, in the preferred construction the operating-lever isactuated directly from a stud 10, located in the upper arm of thebell-crank lever D.

Another peculiar feature of the preferred construction is the feed-plateg, which is pro-- vided at its forward end with an opening q, in which aserrated feeding-foot g is movable up and down, the said foot beingattached to one end of a spring 1 the'other end of whichis secured totheunder face of the plate, those portions whereof which surround theopening q serving'to smooth and lay the fabric. The feeding-foot isdepressed to grip the cloth against the opposition of its spring bymeans of two cams g located at the lower end of the operating-lever pand actuate-d thereby. This form of feed-plate and feeding-foot Iprefer'to the form first shown and described.

It is apparent from the foregoing that in carrying out my invention I amnotobliged to employ the exact devices and arrangements set forth andshown, and I would therefore have it understood that I do not limitmyself to the particular construction and combination of parts hereinshown and described, but hold myself at liberty to make such changes andalterations as fairly fall withinthe spirit and scope of my invention.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Let ters Patent, is

1.- In an overseaming attachment for sewing-machines, the combination,with a baseplate, of a vibrating plate, an operating-lever IIO adaptedto be connected with a reciprocating part of the machine, intermediateconnections between the lever and vibrating plate, whereby the latter isactuated upon every alternate complete movement of the lever, afeed-plate connected with the vibrating plate but free to havelongitudinal movement independent thereof, and means independent of thevi- .brating plate for moving the feed-plate loni gitudinally to feedthe cloth forward when the vibrating plate is at the limits of its throwand at rest, substantially as described.

2. In an ovcrseaming attachment for sewing-machines, the combination,with a baseplate, of a vibrating plate, a feed-plate connectedtherewith, a switch for the vibrating plate, a switch-cam for the switcha feedingdog connected with the feed-plate, a cam therefor, and meansfor driving the cams to feed the cloth while the vibrating plate is atthe limits of its vibration alternately, substantially as described.

In an overseaming attachment for sewing-machines, the combination, witha baseplate, of a vibrating plate having an opening formed in its rearend, a switch having two forwardly-proj ecting arms located in the saidopening, a switch-cam located between the said arms and operating tomove the switch and vibrate the plate on every alternate impulse, afeed-plate connected to and vibrating with the vibrating plate andlongitudinally movable relatively thereto, a feedingdog coupled with thefeed-plate, means for actuating the dog to move the feed-plate rearwardat either limit of the throw of the vibrating plate alternately, and acam operating to switch the dog out of position for actuation betweenevery alternate actuation of the device, substantially as described.

4:. In an overseaming attachment for sewing-machines, the combination,with a baseplate, of a bell-crank lever having one of its arms providedwith an actuating and a re storing finger, a pinion, four pins arrangedat the four corners of a square, connected with the said pinion andarranged to be operated by the said fingers, a short upright shaftjournaled in the base-plate and carrying the said pinion and pins, apinion having half the number of teeth of the pinion before mentionedand meshing into the same, a shaft journaled in the base-plate andcarrying the smaller pinion, a vibrating plate, and afeedplate connectedwith the base-plate, and cams secured to the lower ends of the saidupright shafts for vibrating the vibrating plate and controlling thereciprocation of the feedingplate, the pinion connected with the pinsbeing given a quarter-turn for every actuation of the bell'crank lever,substantially as described.

5. In an oversean'iing attachment for sewing-machines, the combination,with a vibrating plate having a large opening formed in it, of anadjustable switch located in the said opening and provided at itsforward end with two arms having cam-faces upon their outer edgesarranged to engage with co-operating faces in the adjacent edges of theopening, a

movable fulcrum for the switch, whereby it may be moved to change therelation of its cam-faces to the said co-operating edges of the opening,and a switch-cam located be tween the arms to actuate the switch,substantially as described.

6. In an overseaining attachment for sewing-machines, the combination,with a vibrating plate having a large opening formed in it, of anoperating-lever adapted to be connected with a reciprocating part of themachine to which the device is applied, intermediate connections betweenthe said operating-lever and vibrating plate, whereby the latter isactuated upon every alternate complete movement of the lever, aswitchlocated within the opening of the vibrating plate and constructed withtwo parallel arms, a cam located between the arms of the switch foroperating the same, and intermediate driving connections between theoperating'lever and cam, the said arms of the switch being respectivelyprovided with an outwardly-projecting cam-face and the adjacent edges ofthe large opening in the vibrating plate with indentations whereby theswitch will engage with the edges of the opening on opposite sides ofits fulcrum in both of its positions, and so look the plate againstmovement at both ends of its stroke during the intermediate movement ofthe operating-lever, substantially as described.

7. In an overseaming attachment for sewing-m achines, the combination,with a vibrating plate and means for actuating the same, of -afeed-plate connected with the vibrating plate so as to vibratetherewith, but free to move longitudinally independently thereof, afeeding-dog connected with the feed-plate, a rocking arm having twofingers adapted to engage with the dog to move the same forward and backlongitudinally, a cam for alternately retiring the dog from the fingersand bringing it into the range of the same, and means for actuating thesaid rocking arm and cam, substantially as described.

8. In an overseaming attachment for sewing-machines, the combination,with a baseplate and an operating-lever carried thereby and adapted tobe connected with a reciprocating part of the machine, of a vibratingplate located directly below the baseplate, a feed-plate located belowthe vibrating plate, a spring feeding-foot located at the forward end ofthe feed-plate vibrating transversely and longitudinally therewith,having an opening formed in it and normally held above the cloth, apresser-foot extending into the opening in the spring feeding-foot, andconnections between the said operating-lever and the vibrating plate,the feed-plate, the spring feeding-foot, and the presser-foot, wherebythe said movable parts are actuated, the spring feeding-foot beingintermittently depressed upon the cloth, from which it is intermittentlycleared automatically by its spring action, substantially as described.

9. In an overseaming attachment for sewing-machines, the combination,with a baseplate and an operative lever carried thereby and adapted tobe connected with a reciprocating part of the machine, of a vibratingplate located directly below the base-plate, a feedplate located belowthe vibrating plate and connected therewith for actuation thereby, butadapted to have longitudinal movement independently thereof, afeeding-foot having spring connection with the forward end of thefeed-plate, having an opening formed in it and normally held by itsspring action above the cloth, a presser-foot connected with the forwardend of the vibrating plate and extending through the opening in thespring feed-- ing-foot, and connections between the operating-lever andthe vibrating plate, the feedplate, the spring feeding-foot, and thepresserfoot, whereby said movable parts are actuated, the springfeeding-foot being intermittently depressed upon the cloth, from whichit is intermittently cleared automatically by its spring action,substantially as set forth.

10. In an overseaming attachment for sewing-machines, the combination,with a baseplate and an operating-lever carried thereby and adapted tobe connected with a reciprocating part of the machine, of a vibratingplate located below the base-plate, a feedplate located below thevibrating plate and having an opening formed in its forward end, afeeding-foot located in the opening in the feedplate having springconnection therewith and constructed with a central opening, apresserfoot extending into the opening in the spring feeding-foot, andconnections between the said operating-lever and the vibrating plate,the feed-plate, the spring feeding-foot, and the presser-foot, wherebythe said movable parts are actuated, the spring feeding-foot beingintermittently depressed upon the cloth, from which it is clearedautomatically by its spring action and the cloth being smoothed down bythose portions of the feed-plate adjoining the opening in its forwardend, substantially as described.

11. In an overseaming attachment for sewing-machines, the combination,with a bellcrank lever, of a vibrating plate provided at its forward endwith a presser-foot, a feedplate secured to and vibrating with thevibrating plate, but free to have longitudinal movement independentthereof, a serrated feeding-foot located at the forward end of thefeed-plate and having spring connection therewith and normally held outof contact with the cloth upon which the presser-foot rests, two camsarranged in position to engage withthe feeding-foot to force the sameonto'the cloth, a horizontal rock-shaft journaled in the forward end ofthe vibrating plate and carrying the cams, and connection between thesaid rock-shaft and the bellorank lever, whereby the shaft is operatedby 65 the same, substantially as described.

LOUIS T. BULLEY.

Witnesses:

GEO. D. SEYMOUR, FRED O. EARLE.

